Tomorrow sees the European release of Rush Rush Rally Racing (R4) for WiiWare, nearly 18 months after it was first announced. We sat down with developer Senile Team's Jeroen and Roel van Mastbergen to talk racers, future releases and WiiWare.

Nintendo Life: Firstly, please introduce yourself to our readers.

Senile Team: Hi readers! We're Senile Team, a tiny indie developer with a love for 2D gaming.. We are probably best known as the creators of Beats of Rage, a freeware modifiable beat 'em up engine which many of you probably heard of at one time or another.

NL: Can you sum up Rush Rush Rally Racing in a few sentences?

ST: Rush Rush Rally Racing is a fast-paced 2D racing game. It is quite retro and clearly inspired by old classics, but it also features many things that such classics didn't have, such as ramps, tunnels, night time races, smoother physics and four-way split screen.

NL: Originally R4 started on Dreamcast of course. What prompted you to develop a new Dreamcast title so long after the console went off the market?

ST: The Dreamcast has enjoyed a relatively active scene following even long after its discontinuation. One of the Dreamcast communities organised a game programming contest, and Rush Rush Rally Racing was intended as our entry. Unfortunately the contest was cancelled because sponsor Lik-Sang went out of business. Rather than throwing our hard work in the bin, we decided to expand and complete it so it would be fit for a commercial release.

Night shift

NL: What games inspired R4?

ST: RRRR was inspired by Micro Machines (Mega Drive), Combat Cars (also Mega Drive) and Thrash Rally (Neo Geo), but we're proud to say that it is a unique game in its own right and certainly no clone of any of the aforementioned games.

NL: What made you want to bring the game to WiiWare?

ST: The Wii seemed like the best candidate for a port, hardware-wise. For example, its screen resolution and number of controllers are comparable to the Dreamcast's. Additionally one of our team members already had some experience with WiiWare, having worked as an artist on one of the first WiiWare titles.

NL: It's been about 18 months since you first announced R4 for WiiWare — what improvements have been made in the Wii version compared to the Dreamcast release?

ST: Not all of those 18 months were spent on improvements of course. Most of that time was wasted on bureaucratic drivel. But there have been many improvements, including, but not limited to:

Two new game modes (bringing the total up to six!)

A more zoomed-out view, allowing the player to see further ahead

Widescreen support

Improved control configuration

Redesigned menus and result screens

Other graphical improvements

Additional goals

NL: What else should our readers know about the game?

Four-way split-screen

ST: If you like a game that gives you an old-fashioned adrenaline rush, some (dark) humour and an addictive challenge, this is one you'll love. And at only 900 Nintendo Points, it's a steal!

NL: Do you have any further plans for games on Nintendo formats?

ST: There is a good chance you'll see more of us on a Nintendo platform. But it'll most likely be a new game, not a port from an existing Dreamcast title.